Bryceland, Yvonne (1926–1992)

South African stage actress who originated many roles for the plays of Athol Fugard. Born Yvonne Heilbluth on November 18, 1926, in Cape Town, South Africa; died on January 13, 1992, age 66, in London, England; daughter of Adolphus Walter and Clara Ethel (Sanderson) Heilbluth; attended St. Mary's Convent, Cape Town; married Daniel Bryceland (divorced); married Brian Astbury; children: three daughters.

Yvonne Bryceland first appeared on stage in 1947 in the role of a movie actress in Stage Door. In her seven years with the Cape Performing Arts Board (1964–1971), she played a variety of roles including Mme. Desmortes in Ring Round the Moon, Miss Madrigal in The Chalk Garden, and Mme. Ranevskaya in The Cherry Orchard.

From 1969 on, Bryceland's association with playwright Athol Fugard played a prominent part in her career. The leading actor in many of his plays, she created Millie in People Are Living There and Lena in Boesman and Lena in which she also made her London debut (July 1971). After leaving Cape Performing Arts to tour with Fugard, Bryceland, with her second husband Brian Astbury, founded The Space, Cape Town (March 1972), where she portrayed such diverse characters as Frieda in Fugard's Statements after an Arrest under the Immorality Act, Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie, as well as Mother Courage and Medea. She later toured Europe in Statements and repeated that role again in London (1975).

Bryceland appeared in the Edinburgh Festival in 1975 and joined the National Theatre Company in 1978, where she played a Witch in Macbeth and Hecuba in The Woman. During the 1979–80 season, she appeared as Queen Margaret in Richard III and Emilia in Othello. In 1980, she appeared in Fugard's Road to Mecca, traveling with the play to London and New York and winning both the Theater World Award and an Obie. Bryceland recreated the role of Lena in the film version of Boesman and Lena (1972) and appeared on television in People Are Living There and Fugard's Hello and Goodbye. The actress died of cancer on January 13, 1992, in London.